Shloka 2
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
न स शक्यस्त्वया द्रष्ट मयान्यैर्वापि सत्तम । सगुणो निर्गुणो विश्वो ज्ञानदृश्यो हासौ स्मृत:
na sa śakyas tvayā draṣṭuṁ mayānyair vāpi sattama | saguṇo nirguṇo viśvo jñānadṛśyo hy asau smṛtaḥ ||
毗湿摩曰：“人中至善者啊，那普遍之我——既被称为具相，亦被称为离相——非汝、非我、亦非他人，能以此肉眼得见。唯以真知慧观，方可证知；非寻常感官之视所及。”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Supreme Reality is not an object of sensory perception; it is realized through jñāna (inner knowledge/insight). The verse also reconciles descriptions of the Absolute as both saguṇa (manifest with attributes) and nirguṇa (transcendent beyond attributes).
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma addresses his listener as “sattama” and clarifies that the universal Self cannot be seen by ordinary eyes—neither by the listener, nor by Bhīṣma, nor by anyone else—because it is apprehended only through knowledge.